The body of a murder victim found floating in the Sacramento River near Isleton last weekend was identified by detectives Tuesday as Charles G Stapleton, a 63-year-old ex-convict who maintained residences in Palm Springs and San Francisco Fred Donnell, spokesman for the Palm Springs Police Department, said this morning he has not heard of Stapleton Sacramento County Sheriff's Lt Ray Biondi said a motive for the killing hadn't been established, although Stapleton's wallet and car were missing and presumed stolen Biondi said Stapleton was stabbed five times in the back and his throat was slashed before the corpse was transported to the Delta in a crude plywood coffin, which was found on the riverbank The body was discovered Sunday afternoon by a couple fishing with their two children In releasing the victim's identity, Biondi urged anyone with any information about Stapleton or anyone who may have seen his car to notify the sheriff's office or the nearest police agency The missing car is a light brown 1977 Cadillac El Dorado with California license plates MR JTB The car is a T-top with black glass removable roof panels A roof antenna hooked to a cellular phone protrudes from the roof Details of Stapleton's background were sketchy, but according to the California Department of Corrections, Stapleton was sentenced to four years in prison in August 1980 after his criminal conspiracy conviction in San Diego County After serving 27 months in the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, he was paroled Nov 9, 1982. "Detectives believe that Stapleton could have been murdered in a Bay area community," said a statement issued by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department "The unusual aspect of this case was that the killer(s) transported Stapleton's body in a fabricated coffin One theory," the statement went on. "is that Stapleton was killed in a high-density area where the observed movement of his body would result in a call to (police)."